Analysis of cells and tissue samples can involve preparing the sample with stains, including histological stains or immunofluorescent (IF) probes, and then determining the amount of stain present at various locations in the sample.
Automated image analysis of such samples can include finding areas of interest within tissue samples, locating certain types of cells, and/or locating sub-cellular compartments within cells of interest, and determining the amount of stain in various regions, cells and/or sub-cellular compartments. Little or no user intervention is required in many cases.
IF probes have molecular specificity so they bind only to regions of a sample where a target compound is present, and the amount of probe binding is approximately proportional to the amount of the target compound present. Because multiple IF probes can be applied to a single sample, it is possible to measure several analytes in a given cell or tissue section.
A common way to prepare cell or tissue samples for visual review or automated image analysis is via hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining protocols that produce vivid color contrast when the sample is viewed in a transmitted-light microscope.